Lacrosse has been played for the most part in Canada and the United States, with small but dedicated lacrosse communities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Recently, however, lacrosse has begun to flourish at an international level with the sport establishing itself in many new and far-reaching countries, particularly in Europe and east Asia.
Lacrosse is played using a solid rubber ball and long handled racket called a crosse or lacrosse stick.The head of the crosse has a loose net strung into it that allows the player to hold the lacrosse ball. Offensively the object of the game is to use the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by ultimately hurling the ball into an opponent's goal.
Men's field lacrosse is played with ten players on each team: a goalkeeper; three defenders in the defensive end; three midfielders free to roam the whole field; and three attackers attempting to score goals in the offensive end. It is the most common version of lacrosse played internationally.
Box lacrosse (or indoor lacrosse) is an indoor version of the game played by teams of six on ice hockey rinks where the ice has been removed or covered by artificial turf. The enclosed playing area is called a box, in contrast to the open playing field of the traditional game.
The rules of women's lacrosse differ significantly from men's lacrosse, most notably by equipment and the degree of allowable physical contact.[35] Women's lacrosse does not promote a lot of physical contact. The only protective equipment worn for this sport is a mouth guard and face guard and sometimes thin gloves.
Intercrosse (also referred to as sofcrosse, modcrosse, or pop lacrosse) is a non-contact form of lacrosse with a standardized set of rules using intercrosse equipment. Intercrosse as a competitive sport is popular in many continental European countries, as well as in Quebec, Canada. It is also a popular alternative for physical education.
